Granny squares and more granola squares...

Well I'd like to say this wonderful blanket was the result of many a winter's Eve spent hooking up left over yarn from a basket beside my comfy armchair. (Throw in a wood burning stove and you have my dream scenario). I'm afraid not. I spotted it from across a crowded charity shop and quite frankly I moved pretty fast to check it out. It's another whopper (see the one Harvey snuck onto in the header collage above). My last one cost just £3. This one, is rather more expertly put together and I'd say it was done with a 3mm hook, the stitches look quite fine. I love the joining method! All that work and history and they still only wanted a tenner for it.

In other news we have made a tiny tiny bit of progress with the kitchen. We have a new windowsill! It's an old scaffolding plank sanded and sealed. In my attempt to photograph this lovely piece of wood I spotted Mollie on the windowsill outside and in my attempt to capture her I completely forgot to make sure I was also photographing the windowsill indoors!

We are on our third batch of 'healthy' granola/flapjack squares. This time I used two slightly overripe bananas instead of apples. I added a tablespoon of golden syrup like last time but because that was nearly gone too I also put in a heaped teaspoon of set honey (runny would have been better but it seemed to work ok). It doesn't seem a lot of sugar compared to the amount of oats and raisins. This batch held together much better than the second batch of apple flapjacks (M made the second batch and refused to believe they needed squashing down like I had done for the first batch, he's obviously an experiential learner, like Jake!) I didn't heat the mixture in a pan before transferring to the oven for the banana version. They mush down without the need for heat. Yum, they taste pretty good!

I've flicked back through my baking posts and realised that these were similar to some I made before but with olive oil as a binding agent, as well as the fruit. This latest recipe proves the oil is completely unnecessary.

If you're thinking, wow, three batches of flapjack/granola in as many days then I must explain. The first batch was something new so everyone tried it and liked it. Whoosh, gone in minutes. The second batch, novelty has worn off and they were very crumbly so not ideal to put in a lunch box and eat on a train in front of people. Third batch, perfect, ideal for eating on a train journey. I'm off to London to visit the Queen! No not really. I'm off to London to indulge in some woolly inspiration! I can't wait!

http://www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com/london/